The Dawn of a New Era in Film?

Posted on Aug 18, 2006

Even though ?Snakes on a Plane? (which premieres today) promises to be a ludicrous action movie, it heralds a new paradigm in film: direct fan-filmmaker collaboration.

Responding to the pleas of fans on the Internet, the makers of “Snakes” added more violence, more nudity, and even the above line of profane dialogue. Never before have fans so directly influenced the production of a movie. Experts say the ripple effects across the industry could be huge.

The Internet is rife with “Snakes”-themed material:

Our favorite: a celebrity impersonator named DCLugi, who does an uncanny job channeling U2’s Bono in this mash-up tribute to “Snakes” star Samuel L. Jackson.

Maybe even better than the one above: DCLugi impersonates four celebrities in an “early audition” for “Snakes.” Maybe the best celebrity impersonations ever.

Film has often been called a collaborative medium. But few movies are as collaborative as “Snakes on a Plane,” with its self-explanatory premise that can only be described as “fangtastic.”

With its patently ridiculous storyline about 500 deadly serpents terrorizing a commercial flight, “Snake on a Plane” - or “SoaP” as it’s commonly abbreviated - has slithered into the consciousness of film fans over the past year. So much so that a Google search of the title generates more than 16 million hits and reveals home-made SoaP paraphenalia such as amateur music videos, paintings, board games, T-shirts, jewelry, and mock movie posters. (Example: “Hamlet 2: Snakes on a Dane.”)